Japan Steel Works has picked Stork as service partner for Western Europe

Few things are as important to generating customer loyalty as a professional and reliable after sales service and support network. International suppliers of products of all kinds recognize this and tend to solve the problem by partnering with trusted local partners. A recent example is the cooperation agreement signed by plastics machinery manufacturers Japan Steel Works and Stork, which is, in fact, more or less a formalization of a practice that has existed for some 10 years. Designed to enable JSW to overcome the disadvantages of geographical remoteness, time zones and language in providing service to producers using JSW extrusion equipment in Europe, it will also, hope the companies, serve to promote the acquisition of new projects.

Initially, the contractual operating region is Western Europe. During the first phase, the agreement, which was signed between Seiji Umamoto, general manager of plastics machinery sales department at JSW, Tokyo/Japan and Jan Vandenbroucke, VP of Stork, Belgium, encompasses all servicing, overhauling, modernization and enhancement of existing JSW extrusion equipment. It will eventually extend to cover the installation, commissioning and maintenance of JSW's new TEX generation of extruders.

Rudy De Clercq, operations manager of site services for Stork, Belgium is confident about Stork's ability to hold up its end. "For us, JSW extruders are nothing new," he said. "Our customers are aware of the fact that our service technicians know JSW equipment inside out. Some 12 years ago, we worked on a huge JSW extruder at a renowned Belgian plastics raw material producer's site. Since then, many more have followed."

Stork's extensive workshop is centrally located in the port of Antwerp. As Stork, Belgium vice-president Jan Vandenbroucke said, this "combined with our expertise in on-site mechanical services, provide us to deliver fast response times and impeccable maintenance, overhauling and other services for JSW extrusion equipment."

At JSW Europe, Tadashi Gion, who is Stork's contact in Europe, said that he did not rule out the possibility that Stork will be given further service and maintenance responsibility beyond extrusion and into other JSW product areas, as well as on other continents.